Tag: daughters

This is one of my favorite quotes ever from Shakespeare! As a result I have dedicated a small wall area in our home to this quote and to the girls in our home that it references!!!

There wall of fame! All the photos have Trevis as a coach in them except for one. He is even in the one that I was supposed to be in, but I was working that weekend up in Davis with massages. I love walking by this space everyday. I notice the changes in them from year to year…their independence and strength getting stronger. I hope they know they are strong, and kind and full of spirit…and even though they will always be my little girls…they are fiercely mighty!

Like this:

This post was written for inclusion in the Mindful Mama Carnival hosted by Becoming Crunchy and TouchstoneZ. This month our participants have challenges they’ve set for themselves toward becoming more mindful. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

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The challenge is this: Bring myself closer to a more mindful center. Considering this is why I started this particular blog….with the intention for creating a space for me to share what I find…The Mindful Mama Blog Carnival couldn’t have come at a better time. I suppose it’s karma, and I like it!

As a mama to two growing girls, I hope I am doing all the right things; providing them a safe environment,, feeding them healthy foods, allowing their spirits to grow, and curiosity to wander. With all my musings for learning, finding myself, doing this or doing that, what I am figuring out is when it comes down to what my girls really want…it’s not the softball and t-ball games, or the endless play-dates we arrange…it’s not the trips to the library or the beach. Of course those things are great, but what it is, what IT really is…they want TIME with me. And not just watching them, in the same house, under the same roof and space, kind of time. It’s the HANDS ON play. It’s what I call, the Mindful Play, kind of time, that they crave.

It all dawned on me when I broke out all the arts and crafts. It was a Friday and had been a long week, but I promised the girls we would get creative. So I laid everything out. And I have ALOT of everything! Arts and crafts galore cause I love it! So, there it all is laid out and I show them the basics: washing brushes inbetween colors, using different strokes, blending, etc. Then I got the brilliant idea that while they start that, I could get a load of laundry in so I wouldn’t have to worry about it over the weekend, and maybe clean the bathroom too, especially since the girls are occupied. I could get alot of “stuff” done. Well, I kept getting interrupted by the girls asking me questions. By the fourth question I realized…..Ahhh Haaaa. Rani…..stop. Sit down and play….they care about what they are doing, but they want to do what they are doing, WITH me. It’s like it all came to a head and I realized I must be present for them. So I did. I sat down and laughed, played and created with them. It was so simple yet so hard to realize. I was too busy trying to get things done, when what I needed to do was to just do the things that meant the most right in that moment. And that moment now becomes a precious memory that we will never forget! That is my deal behind mindful playing!!!!

There are many ways to by mindful, and one wouldn’t thing the concept of play would need any help. And really it doesn’t. We just need to listen to our kids and by thankful that they want to spend time with us and how precious that really is.

The Importance of a Moment Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama reflects on the need to slow down and breathe in life instead of rushing from one moment to the next.

Mindful Playing With My Daughters Rani at Om She Said looked at her girls and realized that more than anything they wanted her right there next to them, playing, laughing, creating, and having fun; that’s exactly what she did!

Watch Your Words Patti at Canadian Unschooler challenges herself to make her words a reflection of her intentions.

The Mindful Benefits of Knitting Dionna at Code Name: Mama shares how knitting has helped lift her out of depression and has given her a new form of meditation.